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Apprentices registered in Scotland
(1793)Apprenticeship indentures and clerks' articles were subject to a 6d or 12d per pound stamp duty: the registers of the payments usually give the master's trade, address, and occupation, and the apprentice's name, as well as details of the date and length of the apprenticeship. There are central registers for collections of the stamp duty in London, as well as returns from collectors in the provinces. The indentures themselves can date from a year or two earlier than this return. (The sample entry shown on this scan is taken from a Bristol return. Each entry has two scans, the other being the facing page with the details of the indenture, length of service, and payment of duty.) IR 1/66

BOAL. Cost: £8.00.

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British merchant seamen
(1835-1836)At this period, the foreign trade of ships plying to and from the British isles involved about 150,000 men on 15,000 ships; and the coasting trade about a quarter as many more. A large proportion of the seamen on these ships were British subjects, and so liable to be pressed for service in the Royal Navy; but there was no general register by which to identify them, so in 1835 parliament passed a Merchant Seamen's Registration Bill. Under this act this large register of British seamen was compiled, based on ships' crew lists gathered in British and Irish ports, and passed up to the registry in London. Each seaman was assigned a number, and the names were arranged in the register by first two letters of the surname (our sample scan shows one of the pages for 'Sm'); in addition, an attempt was made to separate out namesakes by giving the first instance of a name (a), the second (b), and so on. But no effective method was devised to prevent the same man being registered twice as he appeared in a second crew list; moreover, the original crew lists were clearly difficult for the registry clerks to copy, and some of the surname spellings appear to be corrupted. A parliamentary committee decided that the system devised did not answer the original problem, and this register was abandoned after less than two years: but it is an apparently comprehensive source for British merchant seamen in 1835 to 1836. The register records the number assigned to each man; his name; age; birthplace; quality (master, captain, mate, 2nd mate, mariner, seaman, fisherman, cook, carpenter, boy &c.); and the name and home port of his ship, with the date of the crew list (usually at the end of a voyage). Most of the men recorded were born in the British Isles, but not all (for instance, Charleston and Stockholm appear in the sample scan). The final column 'How disposed of' is rarely used, and indicates those instances where a man died, was discharged, or deserted his ship during the voyage.

BOAL. Cost: £8.00.

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British merchant seamen
(1835-1840)At this period, the foreign trade of ships plying to and from the British isles involved about 150,000 men on 15,000 ships; and the coasting trade about a quarter as many more. A large proportion of the seamen on these ships were British subjects, and so liable to be pressed for service in the Royal Navy; but there was no general register by which to identify them, so in 1835 parliament passed a Merchant Seamen's Registration Bill. Under this act a large register of British seamen was compiled, based on ships' crew lists gathered in British and Irish ports, and passed up to the registry in London. A parliamentary committee decided that the system devised did not answer the original problem, and the original register was abandoned after less than two years: the system was then restarted in this form, with a systematic attempt to attribute the seamen's (ticket) numbers, and to record successive voyages. The register records the number assigned to each man; his name; age; birthplace; quality (S = seaman, &c.); and the name and official number of his ship, with the date of the crew list (usually at the end of a voyage). Most of the men recorded were born in the British Isles, but not all. The system was still very cumbersome, because the names were amassed merely under the first two letters of surname; an attempt was made to separate out namesakes by giving the first instance of a name (a), the second (b), and so on. During 1840 this series of ledgers was abandoned, and a new set started with names grouped together by surname. BT 112/7

BOAL. Cost: £8.00.

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Irish Insolvents
(1840)Insolvency notices for Ireland: insolvency often caused people to restart their lives elsewhere, so these are an important source for lost links

BOAL. Cost: £6.00.

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Science Schools and Classes: Elementary Examination: Class Lists
(1869)The Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education published these class lists giving the names of all the successful candidates in the examination of science schools and classes taken in May 1869. The candidates were of three levels: honours; second stage or advanced examination; third stage or elementary examination. Twenty-three subjects were offered. These are the lists for the elementary examination. The tables, arranged subject by subject, give the candidate's full name (surname first), age, and occupation - or, in the case of those not yet of working age, father's occupation, preceded by (f.). Many candidates sat and were successful in more than one subject, and so appear in more than one list. The subjects are: I. Practical, Plane and Solid Geometry; II. Machine Construction; III. Building Construction; IV. Elementary Mathematics; V. Higher Mathematics; VI. Theoretical Mechanics; VII. Applied Mechanics; VIII. Acoustics, Light, and Heat: IX. Magnetism and Electricity; X. Inorganic Chemistry; XI. Organic Chemistry; XII. Geology; XIII. Mineralogy; XIV. Animal Physiology; XV. Zoology; XVI. Vegetable Anatomy and Physiology; XVII. Systematic and Economic Botany; XVIII. Mining; XIX. Metallurgy; XX. Navigation; XXI. Nautical Astronomy; XXII. Steam; XXIII. Physical Geography.

BOAL. Cost: £6.00.

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Science Schools and Classes: Honours and Advanced Examinations: Class Lists
(1869)The Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education published these class lists giving the names of all the successful candidates in the examination of science schools and classes taken in May 1869. The candidates were of three levels: honours; second stage or advanced examination; third stage or elementary examination. Twenty-three subjects were offered. These are the lists for the honours and advanced examinations. The tables, arranged subject by subject, give the candidate's full name (surname first), age, and occupation - or, in the case of those not yet of working age, father's occupation, preceded by (f.); the name of the school where the candidate was taught the subject; and the name of the teacher. Many candidates sat and were successful in more than one subject, and so appear in more than one list. The subjects are: I. Practical, Plane and Solid Geometry; II. Machine Construction; III. Building Construction; IV. Elementary Mathematics; V. Higher Mathematics; VI. Theoretical Mechanics; VII. Applied Mechanics; VIII. Acoustics, Light, and Heat: IX. Magnetism and Electricity; X. Inorganic Chemistry; XI. Organic Chemistry; XII. Geology; XIII. Mineralogy; XIV. Animal Physiology; XV. Zoology; XVI. Vegetable Anatomy and Physiology; XVII. Systematic and Economic Botany; XVIII. Mining; XIX. Metallurgy; XX. Navigation; XXI. Nautical Astronomy; XXII. Steam; XXIII. Physical Geography.

BOAL. Cost: £6.00.

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Freeholders in county Antrim
(1873-1875)Owners of an acre or more, whether resident there or elsewhere: with their addresses; the acreage; and a valuation of the land. The survey commenced in February 1873, the last returns being received in November 1875.

BOAL. Cost: £4.00.

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Debtors
(1880)Bills of sale (binding assets to a creditor/lender) in England and Wales, October to December 1880

BOAL. Cost: £6.00.

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Outstanding soldiers of the 106th (Bombay Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot
(1875-1881)Each year the best soldiers of the regiment were chosen for long service and good conduct medals. This register gives rank, name, regimental number, and date of recommendation. (The sample scan is from the 34th foot). The register is essentially a register of recommendations, but from 1877-8 onwards there are also details of the issue of the medals. The regiment was moved from England to Ireland in 1880.

BOAL. Cost: £8.00.

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Debtors, Insolvents and Bankrupts
(1882)Bills of sale (binding assets to a creditor/lender), insolvencies and bankruptcies in England and Wales, January to March 1882